Overseaming attachment for sewing-machines.



No. 740,298. PATENT-ED SEPT. 29, 1903.

J. G. MOQRB.

OVERSEAMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. Q

nrnmmmn rlmzn Jun 2. 1902. I so MODEL. v 2.8KBETB-SHEET-1;

Wiz si 7557557.

we u um'us PETERS 00.. s-Hoiaurm, WASHINGYQN, a. c.

No; 740,298. PATENTED SEPT. 29,1903,

- J. .0. MOORE.

OVERSEAMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLIOA'TIQH 'rILI-m .nnmz, i902.

no menu. v 1 2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

w & II 11%;! 5 r Fig /3.-

m'lrresa'esz 0 12755 E "cams verses oomwqmumu" msumzsrcm n c IliatentedSeptember 29, 1905.

PATENT Orrion.

.TEHU C. MOORE, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

OVERSEAMlNG ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING -MACHlN EQ.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 740,298, datedSeptember 29, 1903.

Application filed J 11 1 2, 1902- Serial No. 109,836. '(No model.)

useful Improvements Relating to Sewing- Machines or Sewing-MachineAttachments such as are used for Fancy Stitching, Blind stitching,Overseaining, and Similar Work, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to sewing-machines or sewing-machine attachments(hereinafter referred to as the.attachment) of the kind which havemechanicallyactuated devices other than the ordinary feed-motion forintermittently shifting the work in respect to the needle to cause thestitches to be made in different or desired positions-as, for example,in fancy stitching, blindstitching, and overseaming.

The object of the invention is to simplify and improve the constructionand operation of such attachments, more particularly as re.

gards the means for transmitting the motion of the needle-bar or otherpart to the mechanism which operates the shifting or pushing device,also as regards the said pushing device and the means for pressing orguiding the work as it passes through the machine under the action oftheattachment.

In an attachment made in accordance with m y invention a projection onthe reciprocating needle-bar or other part is adapted to en gage with acombination of straight longitudinal and branching or connectingcamgrooves in a rotary pillar, or what may be termed zigzag cam-groovespassing progressively around the pillar, their terminations or theextreme points of the zigzag opening into grooves arrangedlongitudinally of the pillar and of suitable length whereby thereciprocating motion of the said needlebar and the projection thereon isconverted into an intermittent unidirectional motion of the rotarypillar, the said intermittent unidirectional motion of the pillar actingby means of a cam on the pillar or other connecting mechanism to movethe work shifting or pushing device in and out, as required. The branchcam-grooves maybe disposed at, or by adjustment of the pillar they maybe brought to, such position within the stroke of the needle-bar thatthe time and period of the rotary motion of the pillar and consequenttransmission of the motion to the work shifting or pushing device may beregulated to take place at any required time in regard to the feed andposition of the needle and to suit the special circumstances necessaryto the nature of the stitches or work required to be done. The saidshifting or pushing device has a single blunt knife-edged or bulb-edgedface, which I:

foot of the machine,said device or guide being 7 so constructed andarranged with horizontal inclined and vertical guiding or pressing facesand means of adjustment that the said guiding or pressing faces can beset backward or forward to any desired position with respect to theshifting or pushing device or at a suitable angle therewith. Saidguiding and pressing faces are also adjustable as to height, so thatthey may or may not exert pressure upon the work, may serve as a guidetherefor, or may be moved to an inoperative position, according to thethickness and nature of the material constituting the work or otherrequirement.

I will now describe an attachment made in accordance with my inventionwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 are similar perspecview of Fig. 7 looking towardthe right there- Fig. 9 is a section on line A B of Fig. 7.

ICO

Fig. 10 illustrates by a part-sectional elevation the method of usingthe auxiliary presserfoot for overseaming a single edge of cloth. Fig.11 is a similar view to Fig. 10, illustrating the use of the auxiliarypresser-foot for blindstitching. Fig. 12 is a similar view to Fig. 10,showing the use of the auxiliary presser-foot where very thin materialis operated upon. Fig. 13 is a separate elevation of the work pushing orshifting device. Fig. 14 is a plan of Fig. 13.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 6, a is the reciprocating needle-bar of asewing-machine. b is a vertical pillar or spindle of height about thesame as the stroke made by the needlebar a. This vertical pillar isformed for a suitable distance upward from its base with a straightlongitudinal groove 0, which opens to the right and leftvinto twohelical camgrooves, (marked, respectively, d and 6.) Each of the groovesd and c after passing a quarter-way round the pillar b terminates inother longitudinal grooves, (marked f and g, respectively.) Thesegrooves f and .g are shorter than the first and are connected by twoother helical cam-grooves h and 2', similar to d and c, with anothercommon longitudinal groove passing down to the base of the verticalspindle in the same manner as the groove 0. Thus the vertical spindlehas two longitudinal grooves c and 70, one on the opposite side to theother and each having bifurcated or V-shaped extremities, forming thegrooves d and e and h i, which join at each side with the upperintermediate short longitudinal groovesfand g. A projecting pin Z, whichmay conveniently be in the form of an extension of the needle-clampingthumbscrew, as shown, engages with the described grooves and slidestherein.

In order that the entrance to the camgrooves may be in direct alinementwith the straight longitudinal groove, so as to receive thereciprocating projection on its return movement, the face of the saidcam-groove is set back beyond the center line of the longitudinalgrooves, as shown at m. This is further insured by the rotary motion ofthe pillar being stopped while the projection is traveling in thelongitudinalgrooves. Thus at each upstroke of the needle-bar and eachdownstroke thereof a quarter-revolution is imparted to the rotarypillar. The rotary pillar is preferably mounted in a tubular casing n,Figs. 5 and 6, which has a longitudinal slot 0, through which thereciprocating pin Z pro jects, and the tubular case n is provided with ascrewed plug or end piece, such as 19, which bearings p and t are somade that by adj usting them in regard to one another the spindle may beraised or lowered to suit the height or stroke of the needle-bar ofvarious machines or to adjust the period of the stroke of the needle atwhich the rotary motion of the pillar b takes place. The under face ofthe enlarged base n of the casing n is formed with recess w to allow ofthe rotation of a cam-like part q, carried by the base of thepillar-that is to say, at the fourth intermittent movement thereofftomove out the spring-returned pusher 7', which thus intermittentlypresses the work out of alinement with the needle into a recess y cut inthe side face of the presser-foot 8. (Shown dotted.) For use with thesepusherdevices as hitherto made with a bifurcated extremity it isnecessary that the ordinary presser-foot of the sewing-machine be cutaway to a very large extent to allow of thick fabric being pushed backout of the path of the needle by the broad-ended bifurcated pusher.Owing to this large opening in the presser-foot when thin fabric isoperated upon, there is nothing to keep the thin fabric down while theneedle operates, and this causes the machine to miss stitches. Also theforward edge of the bifurcated pusher obstructed the proper formation ofthe stitch, and in attachments which feed while the pusher is out thesaid bifurcation forms a very undesirable obstruction to the feed of thematerial.

According to my invention the work-shifting device or pusher 1' consistsof a single fiat tongue or blade having a rounded nose and preferablyprovided at its forward end with a vertical groove 1" in its rear faceto allow of the passage of the needle when the pusher r is in itsextended position. The groove 7" may be dispensed with, however, or thenose of the pusher may be suitably curved. The

,nose of the pusher or the upper part thereof may be inclined or curvedforward, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, so as to better direct theturned-up edge of the material out of the path of the needle, and theside of the pusher which will first engage the work or that nearest theoperator is formed with a depression 1' which gradually merges into theordinary form of the pusher-nose at about half its height. The saiddepression serves to gradually assist the edge of the work to vrise andturn over in the proper direction out of the path of the needle, thesaid operation being assisted by the overhanging portion of thepusher-nose, which keeps the work from rising too far. By using theimproved pusher described the opening in the presser-foot may be muchsmaller than that hitherto used, and the efficiency of the work is alsoassisted by the auxiliary presser-foot hereinafter described, whichserves to hold the goods firmly in position as it advances under theneedle and prevents the sewing-machine from missing stitches. The pusherdescribed works in a steppe attachment is secured to the base-plate ofthe machine in a suitable position with respect to the lever-bar a bymeans of a screw .2, passed through an elongated slot in'the plate to.In operation, assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 1,the needle beingin'the act of making a stitch in the work, the usedle-bar a and projection Zrise to the position shown in Fig. 2 andcomplete the stitch. During this movement the pusher -r is inoperative;but the pin Zin passingv the camgroove 6 imparts a quarter-revolution tothe pillarb. The feed of the workin the machine also takes place asusual while the needle is out of the work. From the position shown inFig. 2 the needle-bar passes down to the position shown in Fig. 3. In sodoing and before the needle reaches the work, but after the feed of themachine has taken place, the projection Z in passing through the grooveh imparts a quarter-rotation to the pillar b and cam q, so as to moveout the pusher, which moves the work out of alinement with the needle.The needle then passes down outside the work and in the groove 0? of thepusher, as in Fig. 3. The needle now rises again and completes thestitch, and in so doing the pin Z in passing the cam-groove t' imparts afurther quarter motion to the pillar b and cam g, which allows thepusher to return under the action of its spring to inoperative position.

The parts being now in the position shown in Fig. 4, the feed takesplace, and the needlebar moves down again to the position shown in Fig.1, in so doing imparting a further, but inoperative, quarter motion tothe pillar b and camq, bringing them to the position shown in saidfigure, when the-operations first described are repeated, so that everyalternate stitch is outside the work.

By varying the arrangement of the helical and longitudinal grooves so asto divide the motion of the vertical spindle to other than the quartermovements described the stitches made external to the work may be causedto occur at other intervals.

I will now proceed to describe the construction and action of myimproved auxiliary presser device or guide above referred. to. This isshown in Fig. 1 as attached to the back plate to and is also representedin plan, Fig. 7, in end view, Fig. 8, looking toward the right of Fig.7.Fig. 9 is a section on line A B of Fig. 8. This auxiliary presser orguide comprises a spring plateor tongue 1,secured to the base-plate w insuch manneras to be capable of being slid or reciprocated backward orforward thereon with an eccentric motion, as hereinafter described. Theplate 1 is bent or shaped so that its tendency is to rise from thesurface of the base-plate to. Its forward end is formed as-a flange 2 tofit over the forward edge of the base-plate, this fiange2 beingcontinued back as an extension adapted to be parallel with said edge, asshown, and to reach to a suitable point near the pusher 7". For aconvenient part of its length the flange 2 is bent over forwardly in theform of a flange 3, this last-mentioned flange being inclined ordirected downwardly toward the pusher.

Figs. 10, 11, and 12 showthree difierent methods of using the auxiliarypress'er-foot,

as shown in Fig. 10, for overseaming a single edge of cloth or. Theflange 2 acts as a guide, while the inclined flange 3 serves as a guideand presser-foot to keep the work pressed to the base-plate and inposition as it approaches the pusher and needle. As shown in Fig. 11,forblindstitching the flange 2 acts as a presser-foot to the lower layerof material so, while the flange 3 acts as a presser-foot to the doublelayer of material an the edge ofwhich double layer is also guided by theside of flange 2, so as to cause the needle to split the goods, wherebythe thread is not shown on the inner fold when the material 21: isunfolded. This is useful in such work as blindstitching the turned upedge of trousers. Fig. 12 shows the application to very thin material,such as 00 In this case the lower edge of flange 2 is used as apresser-foot to the goods.

A circular hole 4 is formed near the rear end of the plate 1, thisserving-to cooperate with a cam or eccentric 5 on the under face of themilled button 6 to slide the plate 1 backward or forward with aneccentric motion, so as to move the guiding and pressing surfaces 2 and3 toward or away from the base-plate w and toward or away from thepusher 'r to any required extent. The stem 7 of the milled button 6 fitssnugly in a hole 8 in the base-plate'w. It has a hollow thread toreceive a screw 9, inserted from below, a

spring-washer 10-being interposed between the screw 9 and the base-plateto keep the parts tight.

The plate 1 hasanclongated slot 11 toward its forward end, through whichpasses athreaded pin 12, projecting from the baseplate to. A milled nut13 works upon this pin, and by screwing or unscrewing this nut the plate1 can be adjusted or set to exert any desired pressure upon the work orto stand up out of contact therewith, if so required.

I By turning the said milled head in one'direction the turned-over edgewhich forms the guide and presser-foot is moved to and from the extremeposition of the pusher or at an angle therewith, while by turning themilled head in the other direction the cam or eccentric connectionserves to move the said edge to or from'the side face of the pusher.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The improved attachment for sewingmachines comprising the combinationof a rotary pillar or shaft, cam-grooves disposed around said rotarypillar, a reciprocating pro.- jection carried by the needle-bar. of thesowingmachine, said reciprocating projection sliding in said c am-grooveand thereby imparting an intermittent unidirectional rotary motion tosaid pillar, a Work-shifting device having a single narrow face curvedupward from the feed side to an overhanging portion, a recess for theneedle on the rear face 'of said work-shifting device, means fortransmitting the intermittent motion of said pillar to the work-shiftingdevice, an auxiliary pressing and guiding device having vertical andhorizontal guiding and pressing faces, means for adjusting said verticaland horizontal faces to and from the extreme forward position of thepusher at a suitable angle therewith and at a suitable height, allsubstantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In sewing-machine attachments such as are used for fancy stitching,blindstitching, overseaming, and similar work, the improved means forimparting the required intermittent work-shifting motion to thework-shifting device, comprising a rotary pillar, continuous zigzagcam-grooves disposed around said pillar, longitudinal guide-grooves intowhich the zigzag grooves open, a reciprocating projection on thesewing-machine, said reciprocating projection sliding in said camgroovesand rotating the pillar thereby intermittently in a uniform direction, awork-shifting device, means for transmitting the intermittent motion ofthe pillar to the work-shifting device, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. In sewing-machine attachments such as are used for fancy stitching,blindstitching, overseaming and similar work, the improved means forimparting the required intermittent work-shifting motion to theWork-shifting device, comprising the combination of a rotary pillarreceiving an intermittent unidirectional motion from a reciprocatingpart of the sewing-machine by means of camgrooves and guide-grooves inthe pillar, a spring-returned work-pushing device, a cam on said rotarypillar for periodically actuating said pushing device substantially asdescribed.

4. In a device for the purpose specified, the combination with anon-rotative reciprocating part of a sewing-machine, said part having alaterally-projecting pin, and work-shifting means, of a rotatablegrooved pillar having its axis substantially parallel with the path ofsaid pin, which latter engages the grooves in the pillar, said pillarbeing operatively connected with the work shifting means, whereby thereciprocating part gives to said pillar unidirectional movements aboutits axis for actuating said work shifting means.

5. In a sewing-machine, the combination with a work-shifting device, ofmeans for imparting intermittent movements thereto, said meanscomprising a rotatably-mounted pillar operatively connected with saidwork-shifting device and having in it a plurality of longitudinalguide-grooves and cam-like branch grooves connecting said guide-groovesprogressively around the pillar, and a reciprocating part of themachineoperatively engaging said grooves and thereby imparting to the pillarintermittent rotative impulses in one direction.

6. In a sewing-machine, the combination with a reciprocating part of themachine and a work-shifting device, of a rotatably-mounted pillaroperatively connected with said work-shifting device, said pillar havinga plurality of longitudinal guide-grooves disposed about its peripheryand a plurality of camlike branch grooves connecting said guidegroovesprogressively about the pillar, the said reciprocating part'engagingandsliding in said grooves for imparting intermittent rotary motion tothe pillar, and said cam-like grooves having their faces, at the pointwhere said reciprocating part enters them, set back beyond the centerline of the groove which said reciprocating part has just left, wherebythe intermittent rotary impulses imparted to the pillar are commuted inone direction.

'7. In a sewing-machine, the combination with the base-plate of thesame, the needlebar and needle, the presser-foot of the machine recessedat the side, and the work-shifting means, of an auxiliary guide andpresserfoot comprising a spring-carrying plate, and a guide andauxiliary presser-foot integrally connected and disposed with theirbroader faces perpendicular to each other, said auxiliary presserfootbearing fiatwise on the goods at its end which is adjacent to theneedle, and means for depressing said auxiliary foot.

8. In a sewing-machine, the combination with the base-plate of same, aneedle-bar and needle, the presser-foot of the machine recessed at theside, and work-shifting means, of an auxiliary guide and presser-footcomprising a carrying-plate mounted adj ustably on the machine, a guideand presserfoot thereon having their broader faces disposedperpendicularly to each other, the said face of the auxiliarypresser-foot being inclined downward or toward the cloth-plate at itsfree end which is adjacent to the needle, and means for depressing saidauxiliary foot and for moving it toward and from the needle.

9. In a sewing-machine, the combination with the base-plate of the same,a needle-bar and needle, a presser-foot, and work-shifting means, of anauxiliary presser-foot, a guide connected therewith, a lever-likespring-plate to which said auxiliary foot and guide are attached, athreaded pin or stud in the baseplate, said stud engaging a slot in thespringplate and forming a fulcrum therefor, a nut on said pin fordepressing the plate, and means for turning the lever-like spring-plateabout its fulcrum.

10. In asewing-machine, the combination with the base-plate of the same,a needle-bar and needle, a presser-foot, and a work-shifting means, ofan auxiliary presser foot, a

guide connected therewith, a lever like turn thelever-likespring-carryingplate about 10 spring-plate m which saidauxiliary foot and its fulcrum. 7 guide are attached, a threaded pin orstud in In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed the base-plate, saidstud engaging afslot in my name in the presenceof t-wo subscribing 5 thespring-plate and forming a fulcrum therewitnesses.

for, the nut on saidpin for depressing the J EHU G. MOORE. plate, and aneccentric rotatively mounted in Witnesses: the'base-plate and engaging ayoke in the end ALFRED B. CAMPBELL,

of said spring-plate, said eccentric serving to ERNEST F. FOTHERGILL.

